Bombardier

Early activities

Bombardier acquired the state-owned Canadair from the government of Canada in 1986 and restored it to profitability. Canadair had been nationalized in 1976.

In 1989, Bombardier acquired the near-bankrupt Short Brothers aircraft manufacturing company in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was followed in 1990 by the acquisition of the bankrupt American company Learjet, a manufacturer of business jets headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. A third major aircraft manufacturer acquisition was the money-losing Boeing subsidiary, de Havilland Aircraft of Canada based in Toronto, Ontario, acquired in 1992. Canadair, Learjet and Short Brothers cost US$215 million to acquire and produced revenues of US$1.3 billion in 1990. The sales of Canadair commuter jets and airborne surveillance systems, Learjet business aircraft and Short Brothers C-23 Sherpa cargo planes were growing at that time.

The aerospace company accounted for over half of Bombardier Inc.'s revenue. By the start of the 2010s, its most popular aircraft included its Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners although the company was devoting most of its Research and Development budget to the newer CSeries. It also manufactured the Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bomber (in Dorval and North Bay), and the Global Express and the Challenger lines of business jets.

The CSeries, which Bombardier offered in several size versions, initially competed with the Airbus A318 and Airbus A319; the Boeing 737 Next Generation 737-600 and 737-700 models; and the Embraer 195. Bombardier claimed the CSeries would burn 20% less fuel per trip than these competitors, which would make it still about 8% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 737 MAX, which was introduced in 2017.

In 2008, the launch customer for the CSeries, Lufthansa, signed a letter of intent for up to 60 aircraft and 30 options. The Montreal manufacturing complex was redeveloped by Ghafari Associates to incorporate lean manufacturing for the CSeries.

2010–2016

On 24 March 2011, Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Bombardier Inc. signed a framework agreement for a long-term strategic cooperation on commercial aircraft. The intention was to break the near-duopoly of Airbus and Boeing. Aircraft covered by the programme included the Bombardier CRJ-series, CSeries and Q-series; and the Comac ARJ21 and Comac C919. In January 2012, the firm began manufacturing simple structures, such as flight controls for the CRJ series, from its first facility in Africa, near Casablanca, Morocco. On 30 September 2013, it broke ground on its permanent facility, due to open late 2014. In October, a joint development deal between Bombardier and a South Korean consortium consisting of Korea Aerospace Industries and Korean Air Lines was revealed, to develop a 90-seater turboprop regional airliner, targeting a 2019 launch date.

In November 2012, Bombardier signed the largest deal in its history with Swiss business jet operator VistaJet for 56 Global series jets for a total value of $3.1 billion, including an option for an additional 86 jets, for a total transaction value of $7.8 billion. In April 2013, Canada's Porter Airlines placed a conditional order for 12 CSeries aircraft, with options for another 18; this was conditional on jets being allowed to use Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport off downtown Toronto. In 2015, the Canadian Government announced that it would not approve the marine expansion of the runway required for the use of jets at the airport and the proposal was shelved.

In January 2014, 1,700 employees were cut from Bombardier Aerospace due to a 19 percent drop in orders in 2013. In July of that year, Bombardier reorganized itself in response to underperformance; President Guy Hachey retired and Bombardier Aerospace was split into three divisions: business aircraft; commercial aircraft and aerostructures; and engineering services, while 1,800 jobs were cut. In its 2014-year end statement, Bombardier Aerospace reported its employee count had reduced by 3,700, delivered 290 aircraft and held orders for 282 more; and also claimed "strong long-term potential". On 29 October 2015, Bombardier announced a US$4.9-billion third-quarter loss and $3.2 billion writedown on the CSeries. It also cancelled its Learjet 85 program, taking another US$1.2-billion writedown and cancelling 64 outstanding orders. The firm's debt reached approximately $9 billion, largely due to the CSeries, which had not recorded a single firm order since September 2014. Bombardier shares fell 17.4 per cent on that day. By 21 December 2015, the firm had 243 firm orders for the CSeries; a US$2.5 billion cash infusion – $1 billion from the provincial government plus a $1.5 billion investment from the Caisse de dépôts et placements du Québec – was keeping the parent company adequately funded.

On 17 February 2016, Bombardier announced its 2015 profits were $138 million before taking a $5.4 billion write-down; it also announced 7,000 jobs would be cut.